Swimming pool brush guide

ABSTRACT

A swimming pool brush guide comprising a base plate and roller assembly adapted for use in combination with a swimming pool brush including a long handle; the base plate is placed on the walkway and/or coping with said roller assembly at least partially extending inwardly of the side wall of the pool; the user stands on said base plate, grasps the handle of said brush and forces the same outwardly against said roller assembly whereby the remote end of said brush is forced inwardly against the side wall of said swimming pool.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,402,413, it is difficult,standing on the edge of a swimming pool, to maintain sufficient force ona swimming pool brush to insure that the bristles intimately contact thewall surfaces. To remedy this situation, wings and planes haveheretofore been attached to the brush or handle for exerting forceagainst the brush as it is moved through the water. In general, theseprior art devices are relatively inefficient and considerable difficultyis experienced in their use, especially on the upstroke.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a swimming poolbrush guide used in combination with a conventional swimming pool brushwhereby the user may exert a desired force on the brush against the sidewalls of a swimming pool.

Another object is to provide such a brush guide which is not readilyaffected by the chemicals normally used in treating the water andcleaning swimming pools.

Still another object is to provide such a brush guide which isrelatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy touse, and universal in its adaptability.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from a consideration of the followingspecification when read in the light of the annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of swimming poolbrush guide of the subject invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the swimming poolbrush guide of FIG. 1 placed upon the walkway of a swimming pool with aswimming pool brush carried therein.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of another embodiment of swimming pool brushguide.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG.3 placed upon the coping and walkway of a swimming pool.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a modification of theembodiment of FIGS. 3-4 placed upon the walkway and partially supportedby the coping of a swimming pool.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designatelike or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shownin FIGS. 1-2 a preferred embodiment of swimming pool brush guide 10adapted to be used in combination with a conventional swimming poolbrush 11 for cleaning a swimming pool wall 12 or the like.

Brush 11 of desired width is fixedly or detachably secured to one end ofan elongated handle 13 of tubular or solid stock. As is well known inswimming pool construction, coping 14 is normally secured at leastpartially about the swimming pool in the exterior angle formed betweenthe upper side wall of said pool and walkway 15 which extends at leastpartially about said pool. The coping illustrated in FIG. 2 includesedge 16 which is generally semi-circular in transverse section andterminates upwardly at least slightly above the plane of the walkway;the raised edge may conveniently be grasped by a swimmer andadditionally prevents waste water from flowing into said pool.

Brush guide 10, molded of a metallic or plastic composition whichdesirably exhibits non-corrosive properties and is not deleteriouslyaffected by the chemicals normally used in treating the water andcleaning swimming pools, comprises base plate 17 and integrally formed,longitudinally extending and laterally spaced arms 18-19 of desiredlength. Base plate 17 is oblong with its length substantially greaterthan its width, and is of uniform thickness; desirably said plate is ofsufficient size to permit the user to stand with both feet placedthereon. As indicated by reference numeral 20, the corners of said baseplate are desirably radiused. Selected portions of top 21 of said baseare scored, sandblasted or otherwise provided with a rough or anti-slipsurface; bottom 22 of said plate is conventionally provided with ananti-skid surface when placed on wet concrete or tile.

Arms 18, 19 extend angularly upward in proximity to the foremost end ofplate 17 and then forwardly with the lower surfaces 23-24 (surface 24not shown) of the respective arms transversely aligned and lying in theapproximate plane of the top of said base plate. It is understood thatthe lower surfaces 23, 24, of arms, 18, 19 may be any desired verticaldistance above the bottom of plate 17 and desirably at least suchdistance to permit the arms to pass above the upper edge of the coping.As indicated by reference numeral 25, the foremost edge of the plateintermediate arms 18, 19 is generally concave.

Roller 26 of hard rubber or plastic composition is rotatably mountedintermediate the approximate foremost ends of arms 18, 19 and at leastslightly spaced from the innermost sides thereof. More specifically,roller 26 terminates laterally in cylindrical sections 27-28 of desireddiameter and width which bound inwardly converging shoulders 29-30 andcylindrical central section 31 of reduced diameter; axial bore 32 passesthrough said roller and carries shaft 33. Transversely aligned bores34-35 in proximity to the foremost ends of arms 18-19, respectively,accommodate the ends of said shaft with nuts 36 threaded on the opposingends of said shaft outwardly of each respective arm. It is understoodthat washers of non-corrosive metallic or plastic composition may becarried on shaft 33 outwardly of roller 26. Furthermore, a hollowcylindrical sleeve of metallic or plastic composition may be inserted inbore 32 with shaft 33 journaled therein. Alternately, a flanged sleevemay be inserted in at least the outer ends of bore 32 and said shaftcarried therein. Cylindrical sections 27, 28 of said roller desirablyterminate downwardly at least slightly above the plane of the bottom ofsaid base plate.

Prior to use the handle 13 of brush 11 is passed upwardly throughopening 37 bounded by arms 18-19, concave edge 25 and roller 26. Baseplate 17 is then placed on the walkway 15 and/or coping 14 in such amanner that cylindrical section 31 of said roller is at least slightlyinwardly of the vertical plane of the side wall of the swimming pool.The user then places one or both feet on said base plate, grasps aselected portion of handle 13 and applies an outward force against saidhandle whereby a lower portion of said handle bears against section 31of roller 26 and brush 11 on the remote end of said handle is forcedinwardly against the side wall of the pool. Handle 13 is then raised andlowered in a scrubbing motion while continuing to force said handleoutwardly against said roller thereby applying a desired force at adesired angle against said pool wall. Dependent upon the width of thebrush, approximately 2-3 feet on either side of brush guide 10 may becleaned before repositioning the guide to scrub the next adjacentsection of the side wall of the pool.

There is shown in FIGS. 3-4 another embodiment of swimming pool brushguide 38 comprising base plate 39 and roller assembly 40 which may beused in connection with swimming pools where the upper surfaces of thecoping and walkway are flat. Specifically, coping 14' is generallyrectangular in transverse section and is secured in the exterior angleformed between swimming pool wall 12' and walkway 15' with the flatupper surface of coping 14' aligned with the corresponding surface ofsaid walkway.

Base plate 39, of non-corrosive metallic or plastic composition, isgenerally oblong with its length substantially greater than its width,and is of uniform thickness; desirably the corners of said base plateare radiused, indicated by reference numeral 41. Rectangular plate 42 ofnon-corrosive metallic or plastic composition is substantially smallerthan base plate 39; arms 43-44 of bar stock or the like and of desiredlength are fixedly secured rearwardly to plate 42, said arms parallelthe major axis of plate 42 and are laterally spaced with roller 26rotatably mounted intermediate the approximate outer ends thereof in themanner heretofore described. The foremost edge of plate 42 is desirablyvertically aligned with the corresponding edge of base plate 39 and isdetachably or fixedly secured to selected portions thereof. As shown inFIG. 4, a plurality of countersunk bores 45 are provided in selectedpositions in base plate 39 with aligned bores 46 in plate 42; rivets 47are passed upwardly through said bores and expanded. Alternatively,plate 42 may be detachably secured to the corresponding portions of thebase plate in the manner illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

There is shown in FIG. 5 a modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 3-4wherein at least the foremost portion of base plate 39' is stepped orotherwise shaped. More specifically, base plate 39' is of integralconstruction and generally oblong comprising a relatively largerectangular rear section 48, angularly inclined intermediate section 49forwardly thereof, and foremost section 50 which is rectangular in planwith its minor axis paralleling that of section 48 and verticallythereabove. Section 42 of the roller assembly 40 is fixedly secured tosection 50 of the base plate in the manner heretofore illustrated anddescribed in connection with FIG. 4 of the drawings, or alternatively,detachably secured thereto. Specifically, a plurality of countersunkbores 51 in selected positions in plate 42 communicate downwardly withbores 52 and recesses 53 in section 50 of said base plate with a bolt 54inserting in each bore 51 and threading into a nut 55 carried in recess53. In use, bottom 56 of section 48 is supported on the walkway of thepool while bottom 57 of section 50 bears against the upper edge of thecoping whereby the roller assembly 40 extends substantially inwardly ofthe wall of the swimming pool.

Selected portions of the upper and lower surfaces of base plate 39 andthe corresponding surfaces of section 48 of base plate 39' areconventionally provided with anti-slip and anti-skid properties,respectively.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosurerelates to only preferred embodiments of the invention and that it isintended to cover all changes and modifications of the invention hereinchosen for the purposes of the disclosure which do not constitutedepartures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. In combination with a swimming pool brushincluding a long handle adapted to clean the side wall of a swimmingpool, a swimming pool brush guide comprisinga base plate, first andsecond laterally spaced and forwardly extending arms integrally formedon said base plate, a roller rotatably mounted intermediate said firstand second arms, said handle of said brush adapted to be carriedintermediate said arms and said roller with said brush extendingdownwardly, said brush guide adapted to be positioned adjacent saidswimming pool with said roller extending at least slightly inwardly ofsaid side wall whereby a user, standing upon said base plate, graspssaid handle, forces the same outwardly against said roller, and saidbrush is forced inwardly against the side wall of said pool.
 2. Theinvention of claim 1 wherein said base plate includes a top surfaceincluding means thereon to minimize slipping.
 3. The invention of claim1 wherein said base plate includes a bottom surface including meansthereon to minimize sliding.
 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein saidarms extend angularly upward from said base plate and thence forwardly,paralleling the major plane of said base plate.
 5. In combination with aswimming pool brush including a long handle adapted to clean the sidewall of a swimming pool, a swimming pool brush guide comprisinga baseplate and a roller assembly secured to said base plate, said rollerassembly including a plate, first and second forwardly extending andlaterally spaced arms, and a roller rotatably mounted intermediate saidarms, said handle of said brush adapted to be carried intermediate saidarms and said roller with said brush extending downwardly, said brushadapted to be positioned adjacent said swimming pool with said rollerextending at least slightly inwardly of said side wall whereby a user,standing upon said base plate, grasps said handle, forces the sameoutwardly against said roller, and said brush is forced inwardly againstthe side wall of said pool.
 6. The invention of claim 5 wherein saidbase plate is essentially flat.
 7. The invention of claim 5 wherein saidbase plate is essentially rectangular in plan and includes atransversely extending rear section, an angularly inclined sectionforwardly thereof, and a transversely extending foremost sectionparalleling said rear section, said plate of said roller assemblysecured to the foremost section of said base plate.
 8. The invention ofclaim 5 wherein said roller comprises laterally spaced cylindricalsections, inwardly converging shoulders, a central cylindrical sectionof reduced diameter, and an axially extending bore through said rollerfor mounting said roller intermediate said arms.
 9. The invention ofclaim 8 further including a hollow cylindrical sleeve in said bore ofsaid roller, a shaft carried in said sleeve and adapted to pass throughtransversely aligned bores in said arms and secured thereto.
 10. Theinvention of claim 9 further including washers carried on said shaftintermediate said roller and said arms.